


Midnight Snack

by mikedaws0n



Category: Mouse Guard, Six Feats Under
Genre: Found Family, Friendship, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Light Angst, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21628942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikedaws0n/pseuds/mikedaws0n
Summary: Two young guardmice cope with life in the aftermath of a terrible war.
Relationships: implied Saxon/Gwendolyn, implied Saxon/Kenzie





	Midnight Snack

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written during the second half of the Heat 1149 season of Six Feats Under's Mouse Guard campaign. Details about Lily's life past this point in time have been made ambiguous, and Lieam's backstory in inspired by a non-canonical first draft of the cancelled movie's screenplay. Major spoilers ahead if you haven't gotten past the Fall 1148 season of the Mouse Guard Campaign, and minor spoilers if you haven't read Winter 1152 of the Mouse Guard comics.

Spring 1150, Lockhaven

_Oh, you've come to see Genrui? I'm, I'm very sorry. Genrui didn't survive the war. It's not that he was on the front lines, it's just, well, the stress was too much for him. Heart attack on his desk. I'm Landra, the new quartermaster. So what is your business?_

_..._

_Oh, you wanted a story? That's, well, that's not really my field of expertise. Maybe ask Roibin? Rand can probably tell you a few about his adventures. He's going to be in Lockhaven for a while with that leg injury of his. Look, I can tell you this: change is a double-edged sword. Things change and they don't always change for the better. But not always for the worse, either. It's just something we have to accept and adapt to._

_..._

_Could you go now? I have some paperwork I need to get finished._

***

Snow. Snow and ash. Cold, yet burning. Damp, yet dry.

Lieam traversed through the burnt remains of what was once Ferndale, snow falling, mixed with soot. He saw the frame of his father's smithy and ran towards it. Windows shattered, parts of the walls collapsed, barricades broken through. He struggled with the debris that had once been a door.

Inside he found the charred skeleton of a mouse, forging hammer in one hand, a massive blade shoved through the skull.

"It really is a shame, isn't it?" said a voice behind him. Lieam turned.

Towering over him was the weasel overlord. Some had called them Rampaul, others Savash. It didn't matter to Lieam. They were dressed in ornate armor. The sword that had been lodged in the skeleton's head was now being held in the Overlord's paws.

"Too foolish to swear fealty, too weak to fight back. If only he had someone to fight alongside him. But clearly no mouse could ever be brave enough, strong enough, or loving enough to provide that kind of support."

Sword in paw, Lieam raised it and attempted to strike, but the overlord quickly and effortlessly deflected the blow and sent the blade flying. The Overlord kicked Lieam to the ground, raised his blade, and plunged the sword into Lieam's belly.

Lieam woke up.

***

Lily sat in her patrol's dormitory, admiring her cloak. She still couldn't believe she was finally a guardmouse. The war had been difficult, painful, and cold. So very, very cold. But she got her cloak! This should be the happiest time of her life, overcoming odds and becoming more like the legends.

But deep down, she knew it wasn't.

The Spear had been right about one thing: the war drove all weasels out of the territories. Out of Darkheather, even. Just because one overlord had been able to cause so much pain and misery didn't mean their former subjects deserved to suffer exile just as their tyrant was finally crushed.

She looked the cloak over again. Was she really a hero for helping end that horrible war if it turned out so poorly? A real hero would've been able to end it with weasel and mice living in peace. A happy ending. A real hero would've been able to get more than a handful of mice to safety before they died in Darkheather. Marx had been a hero. Marx had been able to inspire those pre-war captives to make an escape. Marx was braver than Saxon, wiser than Kenzie, and more protective than Rand.  
But Marx still died.

Sure, she had his shield, but she could never live up to his legacy. She wasn't fit to wear a cloak at all, not like him. Why had Zeke promoted her when Sable hadn't? She was her mom, after all, and who else had known her better? Her mom who had joined The Spear, who were probably partly responsible for the war in the first place.

Lily felt a hunger pang.

That's it, she was just hungry. She'd feel better if she had some food in her belly. She got up from the desk, fastened the cloak, and went down the halls to the kitchens.

***

Lily was searching the kitchen's pantry for a good snack when she heard the door creak. Instinctively, she grabbed the heaviest cooking implement nearby (a cast iron frying pan) and raised it.

"Who's there?!" she shouted.

The door fully opened and she saw Lieam. She lowered the pan and calmed down. He was that kid who Kenzie's patrol had found crying in the ruins of Ferndale. They had taken him in, and he paid them back by joining the war effort with them. He had helped end the war as much as she had. He looked her up and down.

"Were you going to hit me with that frying pan?" asked Lieam.

"What? No! Well, yes. But only if you had been someone dangerous. But you weren't! You're Lieam! The new kid!" said Sadie, with an awkard smile.

"I'm pretty sure I'm older than you. Wait a minute, how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"And you're a guardmouse already?"

"Well, yeah I guess."

"Wow! I'm 17 and Kenzie and Saxon still say I have to go through a year mentoring under them."

"Wait, you're being mentored by Kenzie and Saxon? Also, you're not-"

Lily felt another hunger pang.

"Look," she said, "I'm really hungry right now, so can we talk after I find something to eat."

"Um, sure." said the one-year-older greenhorn.

"You want anything?"

"Anything but gabcroon."

Lily thought about gabcroon while resuming her pantry rummage. It wasn't bad, per se. It was pretty good, actually. But it was such a standard trail ration and in the cold of winter it had been the only thing she had gotten to eat day in and day out. It had been tiring. He probably went through the same, now that she thought about it, shoving several dozen wrapped pieces of gabcroon to the side. She continued to scan for snacks when she found a jar of dried lemon peel. She got an idea. A proper lemon cake would take way too long to make and she was too tired to put in that much effort anyways, but maybe she could make something like what Gwendolyn made for her back in summer. She collected ingredients and got to work.

***

Lieam and Lily sat across from each other, eating lemon pancakes and drinking tea. Lieam found the dish odd, and Lily wasn't the best cook, but she had made it work. Lily spoke up.

"You were saying before something about being mentored under Saxon and Kenzie?"

"Yes!" said Lieam, "Gwendolyn was impressed by my efforts in the war and I had nowhere else to go, so she let me mentor under them."

Lily stared at Lieam for a moment. It seemed to Lieam she was lost in thought.

"Nowhere else to go?"

"Y-yes." Lieam paused "Ferndale was gone, and, and so was my father. He, he died trying to protect the town."

"Hey, Lieam. I get it. I grew up on the streets. No home, no parents. I nearly died one winter. After surviving that, I figured I could survive anything and joined the guard."

"Wow! That's incredible! I couldn't have possibly lived like that."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. I got lucky. You've faced down-" Lily paused "Weasels."

Lily looked down, distraught.

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" asked Lieam

"I've, I've got some friends who are weasels." said Lily, "I don't know how they're going to be able to survive after all that."

"Th-the weasels?!?" exclaimed Lieam "You realize what they did to us? They killed so many mice! Three settlements have been wiped off the map! My home is gone and my father is-"

"Rampaul did that! Rampaul killed those mice Rampaul-" Lily began tearing up "I-I just want Isile to be okay, okay??"

Lieam shifted from vengeful anger to sympathy and regret.

"I'm, I'm sorry." he said, "But, but my dad is dead. He was my hero. He was everyone's hero! He put so much work into supporting Ferndale and making it a better place You said you never knew your parents. But there has to be someone you lost."

Lily took a deep breath to steady herself. She spoke.

"Marx. Have you ever heard of a mouse named Marx?"

Lieam thought back. He never met Marx himself, but he had seen wanted posters delivered from Woodruff's Grove, heard rumors of his death from people in Ferndale, listened to stories of his deeds from Saxon and Kenzie, and witnessed speeches being given in the final days of the war about not letting him die in vain.

"Yes." said Lieam "He was killed by Rampaul, right? For being a spy?"

"I was in the patrol that was sent to spy on Darkheather. Well, we were sent as diplomats, but Mo-" She stopped herself. "Sable, decided we should spy on them. We got out, but he didn't. I kept his shield. It's my main weapon now."

Lily focused on eating her pancakes. Lieam followed in suit.

***

When Lily was nearly done with her pancakes, Lieam decided to talk again.

"These pancakes are starting to grow on me. Where did you get the recipe?"

"Well, a third was improvising, a third was from Gwendolyn, and um, a third was from Sable."

Lily hoped that Lieam wouldn't ask about Sable, but it didn't seem likely for the greenhorn.

"Who's Sable?" Lieam asked.

Lily finished her pancakes and thought. She decided to choose her words carefully.

"Sable was my old mentor. And then she became my mom. And then she denied my promotion to guardmouse. And then she wasn't my mentor anymore. And then she joined The Spear." said Lily, pausing between each sentence.

"Wow. I'm so sorry." said Lieam

"It's, it's okay. I've accepted it." Said Lily. She changed the subject. "So, circling back a bit, how are Kenzie and Saxon?"

"Kenzie's very wise and knows a lot of songs and stories. He likes to tell and sing his favorites when we're on the road and it seem clear enough of predators to take that risk."

"Kenzie sings?" asked Lily

"Yeah. Excellent singer." answered Lieam "He has a very smooth voice. I think it has to do with him being from Willowroot. That's the territories' center of art. At least I think it is. Or maybe Oakgrove? Look, Ferndale was as far away from that area as geographically possible."

"How about Saxon?" asked Lily

"Saxon's kind a gruff guy on the outside, but he's got a heart." said Lieam "I don't know if Darkheather made him that way or if he was always like that. Whatever you do, don't joke about his height. He hates that."

"So he's the kind of mouse who says they're compact." commented Lily

"He's definitely said that before. Multiple times."

Lily thought about the times she encountered Saxon. She usually didn't have a enough of a direct face-to-face meeting to tell, but she could see it. She also remembered Francisca mentioning the two of them having a rivalry, and she was pretty big.

Lily thought a little bit more about Saxon and Kenzie, plus Francisca's jokes about Gwendolyn's love of "bad boys with swords". She decided to ask Lieam something that she had been wondering since the first time she heard stories about the Guard's finest.

"Hey, are they boyfriends?" she asked him

Lieam didn't say anything for a few minutes. He seemed lost in thought.

"I," he paused "I honestly don't know. They're very close, and some of the ways they talk to each other are -very- close. But also Kenzie's told me Saxon has a fondness for Gwendolyn, but more in a 'I hope they turn out well' way than an 'I'm jealous of her' way. My best guess, and frankly I don't know a whole lot about romance, is that they're exes maybe? Just, exes that ended on good terms."

"You think he has a crush on Gwendolyn? Francisca thinks she has a crush on him." said Lily

"Well, if she does, then she clearly doesn't feel threatened by Saxon's maybe-ex-boyfriend. Otherwise she could just split them off into different patrols."

"Yeah I guess." Lily said.

"So uh," ask Lieam "Who was your mentor after Sable?"

"His name's Zeke." said Lily "He's really cool and we're great friends, but as a mentor I'd just call him okay. For his birthday I got him a mug that said 'World's Okayest Mentor'"

"Really? Didn't he also help end the war?" asked Lieam

"I mean he did," said Lily "but looking back on my mentorship with him, he really didn't know what he was doing. He kind of just took the position as a gut reaction after Sable denied my promotion."

"Well either way I think you're a great guardmouse." said Lieam

"Thanks, I appreciate that. I've been having a rough night."

"Yeah, me too. Had another nightmare about the war."

"Another one?"

Lieam sighed.

"Yes." he admitted reluctantly "I keep having dreams about my father being dead and my home being gone. And it's true." He started to cry "H-he is dead, and my home is gone! I'm never getting them back! I shouldn't have fled Ferndale. At least we would've died together!"

Lily thought about their conversation at the start of the meal. Things made a little bit more sense now. She got up from her chair, walked over to Lieam, and hugged him. She could feel how tense Lieam was. After a few seconds, she let go.

"Lieam, you do have a home and you do have a dad. You've got two dads, now! Probably! And maybe a mom! And Lockhaven is your home now! We're your family, Lieam! And it's the biggest one in the territories!"

Lieam smiled. The tears went to ones of anguish to ones of joy.

"Th-thanks." he sobbed. He wiped away the tears and hugged Lily. This one felt longer than hers.

At this point the food had been finished, and both of them were feeling tired enough and de-stressed enough to try actually falling asleep.

"Hey" said Lily, "I'm going to get some rest. Not sure when my next patrol is. I got to be up early."

"Sure." said Lieam "I'll take care of the dishes."

As Lily walked away, Lieam called out to her.

"Hey, uh, this wasn't a date, was it?" asked Lieam

"God I hope not" said Lily "I'm gay."

"Oh thank god, me too." said Lieam, collecting the dishes.


End file.
